Nicaraguan journalists Miguel Mora, left, and Lucía Pineda in Managua, Nicaragua, after their release from prison on June 11, 2019. (CPJ)
Nicaraguan journalists Miguel Mora, left, and Lucía Pineda in Managua, Nicaragua, after their release from prison on June 11, 2019. (CPJ)

Journalists released in Nicaragua and Russia; Mexican journalist killed, another kidnapped

The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.

Nicaraguan journalists Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau were released Tuesday after nearly six months in jail. The charges were dropped under a controversial amnesty law passed last week.

In Russia, prominent investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was released Tuesday following an international outcry and support from the Russian public and the journalistic community, including three top Russian dailies. Golunov had been arrested and allegedly beaten in police custody on June 6.

Violence against journalists continues in Mexico, as reporter Norma Sarabia was shot and killed Tuesday evening at her residence in Tabasco state. Early Wednesday morning, journalist Marcos Miranda Cogco was abducted in Boca del Río, Veracruz.

As protests break out in Russia, Haiti, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Sudan, and Algeria, journalists are at increased risk of injury or arrest. CPJ’s Emergencies Response Team provides up-to-date safety information on covering civil unrest, as well as risk assessments and digital security in multiple languages. Follow our Twitter account for important safety alerts.

Global press freedom updates

  • CPJ this week reiterated its call for withdrawal or modification of Hong Kong extradition bill amid protests
  • Iran charges Telegram news channel Gam reporters over labor coverage
  • German draft legislation would enable intelligence agencies to spy on journalists
  • Austrian politician Strache sues German newspapers over ‘Ibiza video’
  • Indian police open criminal investigation into journalist Vishweshwar Bhat; separately, police arrest three journalists for airing ‘defamatory content’ against Uttar Pradesh chief minister
  • South African court rules opposition politician Malema, EFF violated Electoral Code of Conduct in Karima Brown doxxing incident
  • Nigerian journalist Kofi Bartels says police beat him, threatened him with sexual assault
  • Venezuela’s Supreme Court orders news site La Patilla to pay an exorbitant US$5m in damages to former Vice-President Cabello
  • CPJ joins call for UN to continue scrutinizing human rights situation in Eritrea
  • Ivory Coast presidential hopeful Soro should drop complaint against journalist
  • CPJ calls on Liberian authorities to ensure internet and social media access
  • Croatian journalist Danijel Majić assaulted, harassed while covering an event attended by far-right supporters in Austria. A Croatian publication later published photographs of Majić alongside other journalists covering the event, referring to them as “enemies of Croatia”
  • Algerian state broadcaster suspends two journalists amid reporters’ sit-ins
  • In a letter to the Yemeni ambassador in Washington D.C. last week, CPJ called on Yemeni government to ensure that the rights of all journalists are respected

Spotlight

CPJ will host a press freedom summit in Mexico on Tuesday, June 18, bringing together journalists, policy makers, and activists. Panels will cover the regional backsliding in press freedom, impunity for attacks against journalists in Mexico, and the relationship between the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the media.

The event will be held in Mexico City, and comes at a particularly challenging time for press freedom in Mexico, the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, with two local journalists murdered this year in connection to their work. CPJ is investigating five other killings to determine whether the motive was related to the journalists’ work.

Interested in attending? Register here. Journalists interested in covering the event can email [email protected]

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